Gagik Tsaroukyan (Գագիկ Ծառուկյան) was born on November 25, 1956 in Arinj Village in the Abovyan region.

Mr. Tsaroukyan graduated from the Armenian State Institute of Physical Education. He was the winner of the World Arm Wrestling Championship and the European Arm Wrestling Championship in 1998. He was also the president of Armenia’s National Olympic Committee. Mr. Tsaroukyan was awarded the St. Grigor Lousavorich Medal (2002) and Movses Khorenatsi Medal (2003).

From 1989-1990 he was a chief engineer in a hothouse of the Yerevan Institute of Animal Husbandry and Treatment. From 1990-1992 he was the executive director of Armenia Company. In 1992 he started the biggest animal husbandry complex in Armenia and in 1995 the first private dairy plantproduction. In 1996 he purchased the controlling stock of Kotayk Abovyan Beer Factory, in 1997 the Abovyan Plant of Measuring Equipment and Yerevan Chemical Drug Company were also included in his enterprise. In 1997 he founded Mek Furniture Network. In 1998 he obtained the con­trolling stock of Aviaservice, the only private company providing services to planes and passengers in Armenia and started Aviasnund, an enterprise serving Yerevan Airport. From 1999-2002 he created the petrol station network Multi Leon. In 2000 he founded Multi Group Financial and Industrial Complex, which in 2002 included also Multi Stone Stone Processing Company and Yerevan Ararat Brandy, Wine and Vodka Factory.

On May 25, 2003 he was elected as a deputy of the NA from electoral district # 42. He is currently on the NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs. He is not a member of any of the NA faction or deputy group and has no political party affiliation.

Gagik Tsarukian, arguably the wealthiest man in the country, owns more than 40 medium and large companies. Only a handful of them were on the list and only one of them, a Yerevan-based winery, posted any earnings. Its first-quarter profit tax of nearly $20,000 is less than the price tag of any of the dozen cars that normally make up Tsarukian's motorcade.

Tsarukian's business empire has seen an incredible expansion in recent years. The former arm-wrestler started out as a minority shareholder in one of Armenia's two largest breweries in the late 1990s. The brewery has claimed to be loss-making since then, and it is not clear how exactly the unusually beefy tycoon, who is very close to the ruling regime, has earned his millions. Some local observers suspect that more powerful individuals are behind Tsarukian's businesses.